Wilderness.org - natural resources adaptationhttp://wilderness.org/tags/natural-resources-adaptation
enClimate change is here, now. Let’s adapt to it nowhttp://wilderness.org/update/climate-change-here-now-let%E2%80%99s-adapt-it-now
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Sep 11, 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/bios/staff/neil-shader">Neil Shader</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/sunmelting-snow-istock.jpg?itok=y1UDAxdg" width="500" height="263" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>sun melting the snow</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>istock</p>
</div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Climate change is a tricky business.&nbsp; Scientists consistently (and rightly) remind us that you can&rsquo;t pin any individual storm or drought or hurricane on climate change &ndash; there are too many variables, and climate change is just one of them (albeit a rapidly growing one).</p>
<p>However, the vast majority of the world&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-spm.pdf" target="_blank">climate scientists tell us</a>&nbsp;that the new extremes of weather plaguing the United States and other countries are part of a trend that they expected from global warming, and will get worse s shown that computer models from way back in 2007 are proving accurate in predicting the types of weather that we should expect.&nbsp; And in a new report from <a href="http://climatecommunication.org/new/articles/extreme-weather/overview/" target="_blank">Climate Communication</a>, renowned scientists spell out in detail how climate change has become <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/2011/09/12/floods-droughts-wildfires-hurricanes-yes-there-is-a-climate-change-connection/" target="_blank">driving factor behind all current weather events</a>.</p>
<p>&ldquo;All weather events are now influenced by climate change because all weather now develops in a different environment than before,&rdquo; according to the group Climate Communication, in a report released shortly after Irene dumped record amounts of rain on the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.</p>
<p>This probably doesn&rsquo;t seem like news to much of the eastern half of the country, where tropical storms and hurricanes dumped massive amounts of water in the past month, as well residents in Texas who are still coping with some of the worst wildfires in history.</p>
<p>What it does mean is that the science is clear &ndash; climate change is here, and it is here right now.</p>
<p>We need to adapt &ndash; and fast.&nbsp; Even if we were to stop carbon pollution today, the effects of past emissions will be with us for decades. This might sound like old hat &ndash; we&rsquo;ve been&nbsp;<a href="/node/1543">calling for adaptation</a> for years &ndash; but it is clearly a more pressing need than ever.</p>
<p>Adaptation projects are some of the most cost-effective way to protect against the worst effects ofclimate change.&nbsp; In the video below, Maryland restoration contractor Keith Underwood shows a project that saved a county $3 million and restored a living streambed to the county &ndash; helping to improve the water quality of the nearby Chesapeake Bay.</p>
<p>Already cities and communities are adapting to these &ldquo;new normal&rdquo; &ndash; Seattle is adapting to expected water shortages NOT by building lots of new, expensive facilities, but by creating habitat management plans for key watersheds that provide its drinking water. For when it rains too much, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/science/earth/23adaptation.html?_r=1&amp;scp=1&amp;sq=adaptation%20chicago&amp;st=cse" target="_blank">cities like Chicago are planting water-soaking plants</a>&nbsp;to lessen the burden on municipal sewer systems.</p>
<p>Waiting around on adaptation action will likely only drive the costs up &ndash; and that doesn&rsquo;t count the lost benefits that we get from the land. Things that we depend on our natural places for &ndash; clean air, clean water, healthy ecosystems &ndash; will continue to be less productive, <a href="/node/1885">costing us billions of dollars in lost benefits</a>.</p>
<p>The writing is on the wall &ndash; climate change is here now, and we need to adapt now, before it is too late.</p>
</div></div></div>Sun, 11 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +00001421 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/update/climate-change-here-now-let%E2%80%99s-adapt-it-now#commentsConference prepares Alaska communities to deal with climate changehttp://wilderness.org/update/conference-prepares-alaska-communities-deal-climate-change
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">May 4, 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/bios/staff/neil-shader">Neil Shader</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>What do you get when you take the leading voice for sustainable communities, add in youth from Alaska and all over the world, throw in a dash of inside-the-beltway DC policy experience, and bake it all together in a pan the size of the Chugach National Forest?</p>
<p>You get the University of Alaska Anchorage&rsquo;s<a href="http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/classroomsforclimate/" target="_blank">&nbsp;Classrooms for Climate</a>&nbsp;conference &ndash; headlined by The Wilderness Society Governing Council Member&nbsp;Majora Carter&nbsp;and featuring TWS&rsquo;s Climate Change Policy Advisor&nbsp;JP Leous.</p>
<p>Alaska is ground zero for climate change, and the Chugach and neighboring landscapes, with world famous glaciers and watersheds, are an extended classroom for researchers, educators, and students to learn about the impacts that climate change will have and how we can prepare for them.</p>
<p>The keynote address given by Majora will also center on adaptation &ndash; called &ldquo;<a href="http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/classroomsforclimate/more-on-majora.cfm" target="_blank">Hometown Security: Climate Adaptation, Social Innovation and Local Solutions</a>,&rdquo; the talk will focus on what communities are doing to prepare for and adapt to climate change, and how doing so will improve the job security and environmental security in the face of climate change. Listen to her on Alaska Public Radio.</p>
<p>Then JP will be talking to the crowd there about the policies associated with preparing for the unavoidable effects of climate change.&nbsp; Climate-Smart Conservation, also known as climate change adaptation, is incredibly important to communities and landscapes across the country, as rising sea levels, extreme floods, and parching droughts all stress our croplands, water supplies, and communities, and JP is on the front lines of the policy debates in Washington DC about how policy makers and legislators are doing about it.&nbsp; Listen to JP on APRN.</p>
<p>Even if you aren&rsquo;t in Anchorage, you can still catch some of the information presented &ndash; JP and several other presenters were interviewed ahead of time, including experts from the US Forest Service and the US Geological Service&nbsp;<a href="http://greenandgold.uaa.alaska.edu/podcasts/index.php?cat=Classrooms-for-Climate" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>JP will be tweeting from the conference &ndash; follow him @twsjp and providing updates throughout the conference.</p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 04 May 2011 04:00:00 +0000Foster Burgess1489 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/update/conference-prepares-alaska-communities-deal-climate-change#commentsThe Wilderness Society Comments to the Presidential Climate Change Adaptation Task Forcehttp://wilderness.org/resource/wilderness-society-comments-presidential-climate-change-adaptation-task-force
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-publication-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2010-05-20T00:00:00-04:00">Thursday, May 20, 2010</span></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>The Wilderness Society was asked by President Obama&#39;s Council on Environmental Quality to present comments on the progress of the Climate Change Adaptation Task Force.</p>
<p>Director of Climate Change Policy and Conservation Funding David Moulton provided these comments to the Council.</p>
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</div></div></div>Thu, 20 May 2010 04:00:00 +0000Jacquelyn Kirkland1928 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/resource/wilderness-society-comments-presidential-climate-change-adaptation-task-force#commentsKerry-Lieberman Climate Bill Restarts Overdue Senate Climate Debatehttp://wilderness.org/press-release/kerry-lieberman-climate-bill-restarts-overdue-senate-climate-debate
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-release-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2010-05-12T01:00:00-04:00">May 12, 2010</span></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h3>&ldquo;Wild places cannot afford to wait,&rdquo; says The Wilderness Society President</h3>
<p><strong>WASHINGTON</strong> &ndash; The long awaited climate and energy bill from Senators John Kerry (Mass.) and Joseph Lieberman (Conn.) will have a major effect on public lands, according to The Wilderness Society.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Our public lands are threatened by the wanton discharge of global warming pollutants into the air, a dangerous practice that needs to be stopped. The bill from Senators Kerry and Lieberman is a welcome and important step to advance this critical debate,&rdquo; said William H. Meadows, President of The Wilderness Society.</p>
<p>The bill would drive down the emissions of the greenhouse gases which have begun to increase widespread stress on our natural systems through severe weather events, drought, fire and flooding.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Already a changing climate has cost Glacier National Park a third of its iconic glaciers &ndash; a grim story that will be repeated with other treasured landscapes if we do not act to cut emissions,&rdquo; said Meadows.</p>
<p>The bill also contains provisions intended to help our communities and public lands adapt to unavoidable effects of climate change, but appears to be funded at levels that are insufficient to properly protect those communities and natural systems.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Our public lands need the means to adapt to a changing climate &ndash; by removing old dams and logging roads, fighting invasive species that threaten native plants and animals, and restoring forests and wetlands,&rdquo; said Meadows. &ldquo;These activities promote job growth at an incredible scale, but only if they are properly funded.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Despite the recent catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, the bill also includes provisions to promote new off-shore drilling, including off the Alaskan coast, which The Wilderness Society opposes.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen the devastation that drilling can have on our coastal economies and natural areas,&rdquo; stated Meadows. &ldquo;Promoting the types of activity that led to the disaster in the Gulf could lead to an even worse tragedy in the Arctic, destroying whale, walrus, seal and polar bear habitat. The Wilderness Society will be working to strengthen these and other provisions, such as the definition of biomass, which threaten our public lands and increase emissions.&rdquo;</p>
<hr />
<p><em>Read our </em><a href="/sites/default/files/legacy/Coalition-Release-20100512.pdf"><em>coalition release</em></a><em> on the subject.</em></p>
</div></div></div><section class="field field-name-field-upload field-type-file field-label-above"><h2 class="field-label">File Upload:&nbsp;</h2><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/legacy/Coalition-Release-20100512.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=385928">Coalition-Release-20100512.pdf</a></span></div></div></section>Wed, 12 May 2010 19:53:54 +0000103208 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/press-release/kerry-lieberman-climate-bill-restarts-overdue-senate-climate-debate#commentsFocusing on a different green this Earth Dayhttp://wilderness.org/press-release/focusing-different-green-earth-day
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-release-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2010-04-20T01:00:00-04:00">Apr 20, 2010</span></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <h3>Fight against climate change threats mean more jobs for Massachusetts</h3>
<p><strong>WASHINGTON </strong>&ndash; A new <a href="now-more-ever-massachusetts-needs-jobs">report</a> from The Wilderness Society shows that it is easy to be green this Earth Day &ndash; with climate change adaptation jobs in Massachusetts creating jobs and spurring economic development.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Earth Day is typically a time of celebrating all things &lsquo;green&rsquo;- but with a struggling economy, living &lsquo;green&rsquo; isn&rsquo;t at the forefront of most people&rsquo;s minds,&rdquo; said JP Leous, Climate Change Policy Advisor for The Wilderness Society. &ldquo;This is why climate change adaptation jobs are so crucial to both the economy and the environment right now.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Climate change adaptation jobs&rdquo; is a catch-all phrase for projects that help prepare the environment for any effects of climate change that cannot be prevented, even with reductions of greenhouse gases. These jobs include forest and wetland restoration, logging road removal, and other wildlife habitat and ecosystem improvements.</p>
<p>The Wilderness Society&rsquo;s report highlights several examples of work that is already being put on the ground in Massachusetts, and the jobs and environmental benefits that are already being reaped from them. Studies, including one by UMass, estimate that a $1 million investment in these types of projects can create and protect 13 &ndash; 39 jobs, and spur more than $2.1M in economic activity.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The restoration of coldwater fisheries, salt marshes, and other projects detailed in our report are just the types of projects that serve as a win-win for local communities,&rdquo; said Leanne Klyza Linck, Director of the Northeast Program for The Wilderness Society. &ldquo;These projects also protect the billion dollar tourism industry in Massachusetts, and the water resources that residents depend on year-round.&rdquo;</p>
<p><a href="/content/now-more-ever-massachusetts-needs-jobs">Read the report</a>.</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:35:50 +0000103135 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/press-release/focusing-different-green-earth-day#commentsKeeping the wildlands engine revvinghttp://wilderness.org/blog/keeping-wildlands-engine-revving
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Nov 16, 2010</div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/legacy/profiler/Fish%20Crk-clearwater-North%20Lochsa%20Slope%20roadless%20area.jpg?itok=uuCtN0r2" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>
There&rsquo;s no doubt: America is going through some rough economic times. As calls mount for&nbsp;tightening&nbsp;the country&rsquo;s financial belt, there&rsquo;s much discussion from Capitol Hill to Main Street America regarding how to maximize the bang from our tax-collected buck. It&rsquo;s times like this that make folks who care about public lands nervous.</p>
<p>
All too often when the budget hatchet falls it hits key programs that help protect the places we love to visit and the wildlife for which we wait hours and hike miles to catch just a glimpse. But healthy wildlands and wildlife aren&rsquo;t just niceties. They are <a href="/content/green-jobs-save-planet-american-jobs-american-lands">local economic engines </a>that not only provide valuable natural services (Like that clean air you are breathing? Thank a tree; better yet, a forest) but also <a href="http://www.grist.org/article/underground-green-economy-employing-millions/">create and support jobs</a> across America . The economic impact from healthy public lands extends far beyond well-known National Parks like Yellowstone or Yosemite.</p>
<p>
Case in point: <a href="http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/10201157/article-Business-as-Usual--State-parks-have-economic-impact?">state parks in Alabama alone generated millions</a> in revenue and put dozens of people to work. And these funds didn&rsquo;t just go to the state&rsquo;s coffers. According to the <a href="http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/10201157/article-Business-as-Usual--State-parks-have-economic-impact?">Anniston Star</a>, tourism to the state&rsquo;s parks brought millions to local economies as well.</p>
<p>
The national picture is even rosier- Active outdoor recreation supports 6.5 million jobs and generates roughly $730 billion in economic activity every year, according to estimates from the <a href="http://www.outdoorindustry.org/">Outdoor Industry Alliance</a>.</p>
<p>
Outdoor recreation is a great local economic engine. And just like your car&rsquo;s engine, our healthy public lands need to be maintained&mdash;especially in a warming world. Unlike your car, however, we can&rsquo;t replace unmaintained lands with this year&rsquo;s new model. With our public lands, the only substitute for degradation is doing the work necessary to restore it to health.</p>
<p>
The good news is: investing in the health of our wildlands and wildlife is another great way to <a href="/content/green-jobs-include-more-you-might-think">create jobs</a>. These projects range from tackling invasive species to removing unwanted old logging roads to repairing fish culverts. American Jobs on American Lands can create a <a href="/content/restore-rebuild-revitalize">wide array of jobs for all sorts of skill sets </a>(engineers, hydrologists, project managers, construction crews, and so on) in communities across the country. What&rsquo;s more, projects that help keep nature stay resilient in a warming world (aka &ldquo;<a href="/content/what-climate-change-adaptation-anyway">climate adaptation</a>&rdquo; projects ) can generate <a href="http://www.grist.org/article/underground-green-economy-employing-millions/">more jobs per dollar invested</a> than many other sectors of the economy.</p>
<p>
Healthy wildlands are the backbone of America&rsquo;s economy, and the key to our <a href="/content/our-health-and-climate-change">health and wellbeing</a>. So while we look for ways to pinch federal government pennies, let&rsquo;s remember that if we want to keep our nation&rsquo;s economic engine running we need to keep our public lands <a href="/content/what-climate-change-adaptation-anyway">resilient in the face of climate change</a>. Doing so will protect our favorite places for tomorrow while protecting and creating jobs today.</p>
<p>
<em>Follow JP&nbsp;on Twitter - <a href="http://twitter.com/twsjp">@twsjp</a></em></p>
<p>
<em>Photo courtesy John MacCarthy</em></p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:58:13 +0000103780 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/keeping-wildlands-engine-revving#commentsMomentum building for Climate Legislation: Bill Meadows on the National Journalhttp://wilderness.org/blog/momentum-building-climate-legislation-bill-meadows-national-journal
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Jun 15, 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/bios/staff/neil-shader">Neil Shader</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>The Senate voted last week to go forward with the national debate on climate change, not backwards, by rejecting the resolution to weaken the Clean Air Act.&nbsp; The Wilderness Society President Bill Meadows weighs in on the National Journal's Environment and Energy forum on what the next steps need to be.&nbsp; <a href="http://energy.nationaljournal.com/2010/06/epa-vote-momentum-builder.php#1593410">Read his comments here</a>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:45:41 +0000103299 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/momentum-building-climate-legislation-bill-meadows-national-journal#commentsNew climate bill at last: Legislation offers a good start to build upon http://wilderness.org/blog/new-climate-bill-last-legislation-offers-good-start-build-upon
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">May 14, 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/bios/staff/neil-shader">Neil Shader</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/legacy/profiler/parched-earth-small.jpg?itok=cO_cnthe" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Wednesday&rsquo;s introduction of a Senate proposal to curb global-warming from Sens. John Kerry (Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (Conn.) &mdash; called the American Power Act &mdash; was long overdue and offers our last best opportunity to take immediate action this year that addresses the massive challenge of addressing climate change in a comprehensive way.</p>
<p>Introduction of the bill sparked a flurry of questions. How would it affect public lands? How would it affect greenhouse gas pollution? And the most common question around the Beltway: has anyone read this thing? But with the Gulf still flooding with oil, it is more important than ever to move legislation that will shift the nation away from dirty, unsustainable fuel sources &mdash; and this is the first time those questions have been asked in the Senate in months.</p>
<p>Now that the dust is settling, policy and science experts from The Wilderness Society are digging into the 987-page behemoth and analyzing what the bill means for our wild places.</p>
<p>What they know so far is that like any piece of legislation, the American Power Act has upsides and downsides.</p>
<h3>The Good</h3>
<p>Most importantly, the American Power Act works to put a lid on heat-trapping pollution by charging major polluters for each ton of CO2 that goes into the atmosphere and reducing the amount permitted each year.</p>
<p>Ending this free ride for polluters is a major first step towards reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, and reducing the threats to our wildlands from droughts, lesser snowpacks, invasive species, and other dangers.</p>
<p><img height="150" alt="Wind farm at sunset. Courtesy NREL." width="225" src="/sites/default/files/legacy/wind-farm-sunset-NREL.jpg" />This will also drive investments toward energy efficiency and clean energy &mdash; tapping into American ingenuity to help create jobs and improve our environment.</p>
<p>The bill also responds to our calls to provide funding to protect our communities and wildlands from the unavoidable effects of climate change - providing resources to do things like fight off invasive species and restore wetlands and forests. In addition to the benefits to the wildlife that use these habitats, these activities produce high-quality jobs and help protect the clean air and water that we rely on every day.</p>
<p><a href="green-jobs-save-planet-american-jobs-american-lands">Find out how green adaptation jobs can help the economy and the environment</a>.</p>
<h3>The Bad</h3>
<p>In an unfortunate reflection of the bitter divides in contemporary politics, the American Power Act strays from its climate control purpose, and begins pandering to anti-environmental interests.</p>
<p>Despite the continuing devastation in the Gulf of Mexico, the bill encourages more &mdash; not less &mdash; offshore drilling. By offering willing states a financial inducement to drill within 75 miles from their shores, the bill creates incentives to continue depending on dirty fuels. Such states would be allowed to keep nearly 40% of the revenues. While a hastily-written provision for neighboring states to veto these dangerous off-shore plans was inserted at the last minute, these provisions do nothing to help cure America of its addiction to oil.</p>
<p>The community and wildland protection funding isn&rsquo;t nearly as much as is needed &mdash; and worse, doesn&rsquo;t begin until 2019 (7 years after the bill goes into effect in 2012). Delaying funding for climate adaptations projects will only make the problems facing our natural places worse, and with fewer resources, efforts to address climate impacts will be less effective. The climate-related threats looming over our wild places won&rsquo;t wait for almost another decade, and neither should we.</p>
<p>And while renewable fuels are a hot topic right now, the American Power Act includes language that would abandon sustainable forestry principles to use our forests as an energy source &mdash; threatening to turn our private forest ecosystems into mono-culture tree farms that are no more natural than skyscrapers or space shuttles. Without proper safeguards, we run a very real risk of having the same pressure placed on our public lands &mdash; the same places we have fought so hard to protect.</p>
<h3>The Ugly</h3>
<p>The worst part of the bill isn&rsquo;t any of the provisions contained within, however.</p>
<p><img height="200" alt="Glacier National Park. Courtesy NPS." width="250" src="/sites/default/files/legacy/glacierNationalPark-NPS.jpg" />The worst part &mdash; the ugly &mdash; is that it is so late in coming. In 2010, America has yet to act to confront the threat that climate change poses to our wild places and our communities.</p>
<p>Scientists and environmentalists have known that America&rsquo;s addiction to carbon spewing fossil fuels was a hazard to our ecosystems and our way of life. Glacier National Park, one of our jewels of America&rsquo;s vaunted National Park System, has already lost a third of its iconic glaciers to a warming climate.</p>
<p>From the polar bears in the Arctic, struggling to find food and shelter on the diminishing ice, to the native plants and animals being pushed out by exotic invaders that were once contained by cooler climes, the threat of global warming isn&rsquo;t just obvious &mdash; it&rsquo;s here.</p>
<hr />
<p><em><strong>Why should a climate bill fund natural resources projects in your community?</strong></em> Watch a few experts on restoration and adaptation talk about the importance of our wild places to a healthy environment and a healthy economy.</p>
<p><embed width="420" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/g50Bgd%2BLeAI" height="343"></embed></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: smaller">photos:</span></strong><span style="font-size: smaller"><br />Parched earth.<br />Wind farm at sunset. Courtesy NREL.<br />Melting glaciers in Glacier National Park, Montana. Courtesy NPS.</span></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 14 May 2010 21:50:33 +0000103214 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/new-climate-bill-last-legislation-offers-good-start-build-upon#commentsGreen Jobs to save the planet: American jobs on American landshttp://wilderness.org/blog/green-jobs-save-planet-american-jobs-american-lands
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">May 7, 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/bios/staff/neil-shader">Neil Shader</a></div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/legacy/profiler/water_habitat-restore-mass.jpg?itok=OdTh5MCo" alt="" title="Water habitat restoration in Massachusetts." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Water habitat restoration in Massachusetts.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>At the recent <em>Good Jobs, Green Jobs</em> conference in Washington, DC, a lot of panel discussions were about living green: clean energy, green infrastructure, and the like. However there was only one panel discussion that was about being brown &ndash; as in moving earth, taking out roads, and getting hands and work boots dirty, all in the name of fighting climate change and fueling a stagnating economy.</p>
<p><strong>The <em>American Jobs on American Lands</em> panel, hosted by The Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club, and moderated by The Wilderness Society&rsquo;s <a href="/about-us/experts/jp-leous">JP Leous</a>, focused on jobs that are putting Americans back to work helping public lands adapt to the unavoidable effects of climate change. </strong></p>
<p>&ldquo;Even if we turned off the CO2 tap tomorrow and eliminated all new greenhouse gas emissions, we&rsquo;d still have decades of changing temperatures to deal with,&rdquo; said Leous. &ldquo;We need to be able to prepare our wild places for the effects of climate change &ndash; and these jobs are a major economic engine.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>These types of &lsquo;adaptation&rsquo; green jobs include construction and other jobs that have been out of place in the current economic climate. </strong></p>
<p>A University of Massachusetts study shows that a $1 million investment in forest adaptation work can create or save 29 jobs. That $1 million could also spur more than $2.1 million in economic activity in local communities, making the return more than $2 for every $1 put on the ground. <a href="/now-more-ever-massachusetts-needs-jobs">Read more about adaptation jobs in Massachusetts.</a></p>
<p><strong><img width="300" height="229" src="/sites/default/files/legacy/userfiles/USFWS-Wetland-Restoration-Todd-Harless.jpg" alt="Wetland restoration. Photo by Todd Harless, Courtesy USFWS." />Panelists from companies that are putting these types of jobs on the ground said the jobs are having a positive impact. </strong></p>
<p>Frank Hugelmeyer, the President of the Outdoor Industry Association of America, was also on hand to talk about how protecting those wild places help protect the $730 billion/year outdoor recreation industry.</p>
<p>The panel discussion isn&rsquo;t the only place in Washington that people are talking about adaptation jobs. Recently a group of business owners and natural resource professionals visited Capitol Hill to tell their Members of Congress that America&rsquo;s economy needs a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill that creates jobs protecting our natural resources from climate impacts.</p>
<p>Among them, Andy Brown from Asheville, N.C., helped deliver this message to Congress: Fund adaptation jobs.</p>
<p><embed width="420" height="343" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/g50Bgdy9bAI"></embed></p>
<p>His firm, Equinox Environmental, employs a dozen people in his hometown, from the office workers fill purchase orders to forest ecologists taking measurements out in the field.</p>
<p>&ldquo;My company helps people protect, conserve, and use lands and habitats in a responsible way,&rdquo; said Brown.</p>
<p>Jobs were one of the biggest reasons that Mike Chelminski and Lance Linkel from Thompson, Maine, came to talk to their Members of Congress. <strong>&ldquo;We employ about 70 people at Stantec Consulting. The adaptation work that we do allows us to provide quality, well-paying jobs in the community,&rdquo; said Chelminski.</strong></p>
<p><img width="300" height="232" src="/sites/default/files/legacy/userfiles/msvhinrd-moving-dirt.jpg" alt="Heavy machinery at a green jobs restoration site." />Lance Linkel, owner and operator of Linkel Construction, described a typical job site on some of the adaption work that he and his company have done.</p>
<p>&ldquo;On the job site you&rsquo;ll see dump trucks, surveyors, craftsmen shaping stone &ndash; we enjoy what we do,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>While Brown, Chelminski, and Linkel all have different stories to tell, they all had the same message to deliver to their Members of Congress.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I hope Congress provides leadership to provide funding for mitigation and climate change adaptation,&rdquo; said Brown.</p>
<p>Read about the <a href="/sites/default/files/legacy/American-Jobs-on-American-Lands.pdf">benefits of adaptation jobs</a> and <a href="/sites/default/files/legacy/Green-Jobs-Fact-Sheet.pdf">adaptation jobs around the country</a>.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: smaller;">photos:</span></strong><span style="font-size: smaller;"><br /> Water habitat restoration in Massachusetts.<br /> Wetland restoration. Photo by Todd Harless, Courtesy USFWS.<br /> Heavy machinery at a green jobs restoration site.</span></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 07 May 2010 19:49:39 +0000103197 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/green-jobs-save-planet-american-jobs-american-lands#commentsThe Plight of the Migrantshttp://wilderness.org/blog/plight-migrants
<div class="field-group-format group_meta field-group-div group-meta speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Oct 3, 2009</div></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_image field-group-div group-image speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/legacy/profiler/WesternTanager_USFWS.jpg?itok=_rbuksBC" alt="" title="Western tanager. Courtesy USFWS." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Western tanager. Courtesy USFWS.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><em>This feature was first published in the 2009 Wilderness Magazine. To receive the annual magazine and quarterly newsletters from The Wilderness Society, </em><a target="_blank" href="https://donate.wilderness.org/05/donatetws"><em><strong>become a member</strong></em></a><em> today!</em></p>
<p><em>Writer David S. Wilcove is a professor of ecology, evolutionary biology, and public affairs at Princeton University and the author of </em>No Way Home: The Decline of the World&rsquo;s Great Animal Migrations<em>.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><em><strong>By David S. Wilcove</strong></em></p>
<p>Sometime in early August, during one of the first chilly nights of the season in Yellowstone National Park, a western tanager will awaken, fly to the top of a lodgepole pine tree, and launch itself into the ink-black sky, thereby beginning the first leg of its annual migration to its winter quarters in western Mexico. In March, as snow piles up inside Yellowstone, herds of bison will leave the park in search of accessible forage.</p>
<p>Yellowstone National Park, like virtually all of our public lands, is filled with migratory animals, including birds, mammals, fish, and insects, a diverse array of creatures employing a diverse array of navigational tricks to reach destinations across the West and across the hemisphere. These animals are, for the most part, driven by opportunism. They take advantage of abundant food and other resources that are present in Yellowstone for only a portion of the year. For the western tanager, the park&rsquo;s coniferous forests offer a smorgasbord of insects during the spring and summer, more than enough to raise a family. But once the cold weather sets in and the insects disappear, tanagers and other birds must find somewhere else to spend the winter. Similarly, Yellowstone&rsquo;s lush meadows and grasslands can sustain thousands of bison and elk during the warm months, but heavy snow may eventually render that food inaccessible, forcing them to move to lower elevations inside and outside the park.</p>
<p>In addition to opportunism, one other characteristic unites Yellowstone&rsquo;s diverse migrants: vulnerability. Logging and farming are destroying the montane forests of Mexico and Central America where western tanagers (and many other birds from the western U.S. and Canada) seek refuge during the winter. The fragile riparian woodlands that serve as crucial rest and refueling stops for them as they pass through the deserts of the Southwest are being degraded by overgrazing and development, while obstacles and dangers of all sorts&mdash;from skyscrapers to feral cats&mdash;have made the entire route more dangerous.</p>
<p>For bison, the primary enemies are a tiny bacterium and a lot of intolerance. The bacterium Brucella abortus was brought into the U.S. via imported cattle from Europe, and it spread to Yellowstone&rsquo;s bison a century ago. Brucellosis (as the disease is called) has little effect on bison. Ranchers, however, detest it because it causes some of their cows to abort their fetuses and reduce their milk production. Fear of brucellosis has made Montana&rsquo;s politicians and agriculture officials determined to keep Yellowstone&rsquo;s bison away from Montana&rsquo;s cattle. Unfortunately, a small number of ranchers continue to graze livestock on public and private lands adjacent to the park. So when bison leave the park, as often happens during harsh winters, state and federal officials first try to chase them back, using helicopters, snowmobiles, off-road vehicles, and people on horseback. Those that refuse to return are killed.</p>
<p><img height="261" width="300" alt="Pronghorn. Courtesy BLM." src="/sites/default/files/legacy/userfiles/Pronghorn_blm.jpg" />Nor are bison the only big mammals in trouble in Yellowstone. Biologist Joel Berger has estimated that over half of the elk migratory routes and three-quarters of the pronghorn routes in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have been destroyed by residential development, oil and gas exploration, and the building of fences and other barriers.</p>
<p>Across the country and across the world, migratory animals are declining as their journeys become increasingly treacherous. This loss is not only aesthetic but ecological. Birds, for example, help to keep populations of defoliating insects in check, thereby reducing damage to our forests and croplands. Bison increase the productivity of grasslands by consuming the older, rank forage and by redistributing nutrients via their dung, all of which benefits other plants and animals, including pronghorn, prairie dogs, and grassland birds. Migratory salmon sustain grizzly bears, bald eagles, and other animals. The list goes on.</p>
<p>&ldquo;No man is an island, entire of itself,&rdquo; proclaimed the poet John Donne. The same holds true for our national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and other public lands. The well-being of many of the animals found on our public lands depends greatly on what happens on adjacent lands or even in distant countries. Saving these animals will require greater coordination among individuals, agencies, and nations, combined with a commitment to protecting them while they are still common. Migration is fundamentally a phenomenon of abundance. If we wait until these species are close to extinction, we will have lost both the glory and the ecological value of migration.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: smaller;">photos:</span></strong><span style="font-size: smaller;"><br /> Western tanagers head south after a summer of feasting on insects in the Northern Rockies, some flying as far south as Mexico. Courtesy USFWS.<br /> Evidence suggests that over half of the elk migratory routes and three-quarters of the pronghorn routes in the Greater Yellostone Ecosystem have been destroyed by residential development, oil and gas exploration, and the building of fences and other barriers. Courtesy BLM. </span></p>
</div></div></div>Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:44:00 +0000102533 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/plight-migrants#comments